I started out really enjoying this book. Then I learned just who the author was. It seems the head Conservative in one of the most Conservative states in America wrote this book to subliminally sabotage the Democratic Party.

It starts out with the sabotage of a centrist-Democrat's attempt to gain the Democratic presidential nomination, then failing because of a hardcore Liberal who cheats his way to the nomination. Meanwhile, the hardcore Republican-Conservative is coasting a presidential victory. After a while the Centrist-Democrat, who finds himself a born-again devout Christian, begins considering an Independent run for president. Meanwhile, the hardcore Liberal's campaign seems to draw a parallel with John McCain's 2008 campaign, by choosing an idiotic, inexperienced female governor. She makes numerous mistakes, and idiotic statements, and is dragging down the entire campaign. On top of that, the FBI and Virginia State Police begin investigating voter fraud in Virginia that helped Hardcore Liberal get the nomination for president. All this is going on while an Iranian terrorist is planning a terror attack somewhere in the US that supposed to make American's forget about 9/11, and careen the United States towards war with Iran. There's also a subplot about a rich, conservative, smart, handsome, doctor/priest who owns a conglomerated TV network trying to get Republicans to swing from 'center-right' to 'slightly right of Rush Limbaugh'. Evidently, this character is a euphemism for Ralph Reed himself.

The entire book seems to be based off Reed's wet-dream of a perfect election. The book has hardly been taken seriously outside the RNC's book club, which is why I found it exactly where it belongs: in the bargain bin at Borders.

All in all, this book is merely an attempt for Ralph Reed to try to get his political views off subliminally, while subliminally scare-mongering paranoid xenophobic Americans against Iran. I've been mentioning the word 'subliminally' a lot, which is why I should mention that this book is about as subliminal as a billboard with huge, flashing, writing on it.

This book is like a poor kid getting a PlayStation 3 box for Christmas filled with socks. It's fun and good-natured on the outside, but once you get inside, it dark, soulless, for some reason leaning tremendously to the right, and deep down you knew you should've been expecting from the start. ( )

Review by Jeremy Taylor

In today’s volatile political climate, it seems a novel about politics might be eclipsed by the real-life drama playing out in Washington and on news talk shows every day. Yet with an obvious insider’s grasp of political life and surprising skill for a first-time novelist, Ralph Reed, a veteran political consultant and former executive director of the Christian Coalition, manages in Dark Horse to present a scenario that is almost as interesting and compelling, if perhaps not quite as dramatic, as the real thing.

The book opens with California governor Robert Long, a moderate Democrat, facing liberal Senator Salmon Stanley for the Democratic presidential nomination. When the Democratic National Convention gets underway with no clear frontrunner, tension rises as campaign aides for both sides work behind the scenes to try to pull out a victory. When the dust settles, Stanley is declared the winner, but Long is not ready to fade into political obscurity just yet—especially since Stanley’s victory is marred by allegations of fraud.

Long’s campaign chief, Jay Noble, heads to Mexico after the convention to nurse his political wounds, never suspecting that while on vacation he will meet the woman of his dreams. And when Long decides to run for president as an Independent candidate, Noble’s vacation is cut short. From there, backroom deals and public grandstanding abound as Long and Stanley battle it out with the incumbent Republican vice-president and with each other.

As the scandal surrounding the Democratic nomination continues to make headlines, the careers of some of Washington’s most powerful influencers are at risk. Meanwhile, Andrew Stanton, widely known as “America’s pastor,” wonders which candidate to support, ensuring the vote of the religious right. Rassem el Zafarshan, a dangerous terrorist with ties to al Qaeda, is on the loose in the U.S., planning an attack that will make 9/11 pale in comparison. And when a leak develops in the Long campaign, all bets are off as election day approaches.

Dark Horse is a fun, fast read plagued with only a few of the usual first-time-author errors. There is some head-hopping (in-scene character point-of-view shifts), and there are lengthy sections that seem to contain too much information and not enough imagery or drama. Probably the biggest flaw in the writing is the sheer number of characters—far too many to keep track of—which is not helped by the similarity of some of the names of characters the reader actually needs to remember. In addition, some characters—particularly females—are more stereotypical and one-dimensional than modern readers have come to expect in this genre. The plot pacing is good, however, despite several loose ends that remain untied by the end of the story. And the prose is for the most part tight and concise; Reed does not resort to the kind of over-the-top description and flowery “extra-literary” language that makes some first novels read like vocabulary primers.

An element in the book that is either interesting or annoying, depending on one’s point of view, is the obvious similarity between characters and real-life players on the American political scene. People like Colin Powell, Matt Drudge, James Dobson, George Soros, and others make appearances under thin disguises. This technique works best in a parody setting, like Roland Merullo’s American Savior, but the realistic interactions between characters and Reed’s firsthand understanding of how politics works help keep any corniness to a reasonable low.

If the book has a morale, it might be, “Follow your heart, and you can achieve your dreams.” It’s not exactly the most compelling message for a political thriller, but Reed inserts enough redemptive content in the form of one main character’s spiritual epiphany to mostly make up for it. Objectionable content is minimal but not entirely absent, as certain characters behave in ways one might expect overpaid and overworked politicians and aides to act under extreme pressure.

All in all, Dark Horse is a better-than-average first novel, and in the relatively under-populated genre of Christian political fiction, it can more than hold its own. It’s well worth reading for anyone interested in the sometimes brilliant but often greasy and underhanded way politics is done in Washington. For anyone looking for a break from the everyday drama and intrigue of our real government, Dark Horse is a recommended escape. ( )